Antigone...A Riff on Sophocles

No droning Greek choruses draped in bed sheets!
Forget the stately columns and enter a world of rap music and rebellion! A tale of intransigent leaders and the need to resist them, no matter the cost.

The cast

Elin Anderson
Role: Costume Design
Elin is wardrobe manager and resident costumer at Park Square Theater where she has designed over twenty productions. Elin works with a number of theaters in the Twin Cities and last year designed "Fables" and "Cloud Nine" for Metropolitan State University.,

Antonio Banks
Role: The Witness
Antonio was a huge fan when he saw the original cast perform at Metropolitan State University. Antonio says "Now I am a part of this groundbreaking play...I am on Cloud Nine!"
Antonio is a student at MCTC and will graduate with an AFA in Spring of 2009. He plans to continue his studies in Business Management and Theater.

Chuck Beeson
Role: The Guard
Chuck has acted, directed, produced and written, composed sound production...every imaginable theater experience one can have! He has been an active participant in the Kennedy Center American College Festival regionals and is currently developing a new play. Chuck performs as keyboardist with for the R&B group--Hugo Smooth.

Danial Brewer
Role: Creon
Danial spent years working in community services—primarily in communities affect by HIV/AIDS. He graduated from Metropolitan State University with a double major in theater and screenwriting. Most recently Danial performed as Betty/Gerry in MSU's Theater Underground production of "Cloud Nine."

Camille D'Ambrose
Role: Producer
Camille D'Ambrose has a career in professional theater as an actor and director that includes the stage, commercial work and films. She has worked in theaters across the country and in the Twin Cities area. Camille teaches and directs in the Metropolitan State University Theater Program.

Maggie D'Ambrose
Role: Antigone
Maggie is a Mason Gross School of the Arts BFA student at Rutgers University.
Maggie was last seen in the Twin Cities in "Do you want to know a Secret?"
at Intermedia Arts.

Lynnea Doublette
Role: The Rapper
Lynnea graduated with a degree in psychology from Winona State University.
She has performed in productions from Anchorage, Alaska to Rochester, Minnesota.
She has also appeared in commercials and print in the Twin Cities. Most recently, Lynnea
toured with Illusion Theater's "Autistic License".

Mike Enderle
Role: Stage Manager
Michael is pursuing a degree in Stage Management at Metropolitan State University.
His production credits include "Cloud Nine" at MSU as well as "Brighton Beach Memoirs", "The Shape of Things", "The School for Scandal" and "The Philanthropist" at the University of Minnesota (Duluth).

Dan Featherstone
Role: Technical support/Assistant Stage Manager
Dan has done several shows with Metropolitan State University's Theater Underground and MCTC's Theater in the Park Players. He plans to continue developing his passion and skills
in order to become a professional lighting designer.

Allen Hamilton
Role: Playwright/Director
Allen Hamilton has worked in regional theaters throughout the country--in Minneapolis, Boston, Arizona, Los Angeles, Chicago, St. Louis and Washington D.C. He has appeared on Broadway and London's West End. He has acted in dozens of television movies and feature films. Allen teaches advanced acting in the Metropolitan State University Theater Program.

Debbie Iversen
Role: Technical support
Debbie (Technical Support) is a student at Metropolitan State University.
Debbie’s play "NorthStar Trilogy" won the MSU playwriting contest and
will be produced in Fall of 2008.

Kirby Moore
Role: Technical support
Kirby has designed for the Minnesota Jewish Theater, the John Hassler Theater, Theater in the Round, Illusion Theater and Children's Theater, Metropolitan State University and MCTC. He has done film and commercial work in the Twin Cities, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Forrest Nelson
Role: The Veteran (Sgt. Tieresius)
Forrest is a Metropolitan State University Theater Major and president of the student organization Theater Underground. He would like to thank the faculty at MSU for their inspiration over the last four years. "Well, Uncle Eugene, would you like to dance?"

Dustin Suggs
Role: Haemon
Dustin is an urban teaching student at Metropolitan State University.He is learning that traditional academic institutions must evolve to capture the minds of today's youth. He hopes to continue developing his theatrical skills in order to find a career in which he can use these skills in conjunction with his passion for teaching therapeutic theater to children with autism. Dustin was seen recently as Joshua/Cathy in MSU's Theater Underground production of "Cloud Nine".

Mary Van Briesen
Role: Public Relations
Mary is a Senior at Metropolitan State University majoring in Theater Arts.
She served for three years as president of the student organization Theater Underground.
Mary has been involved in many MSU productions both on and off stage.

Shawn Van Briesen
Role: Technical support
Shawn is commercial illustrator and comic book artist. He is also a profession screenwriter and published poet. Shawn 's talents in the commercial and fine arts fields have led him to work in stage, television and film.

Amanda Weecks
Role: Ismene
Amanda is a full time college student at Metropolitan State University. She has an Associate Degree from Century Community College and is going for her BA in theater and writing at MSU. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing, acting and playing with Rufus the chinchilla.

Showtimes

Sat., Aug. 2 @ 1:00 p.m.
Sun., Aug. 3 @ 4:00 p.m.
[A] Mon., Aug. 4 @ 10:00 p.m.
Thu., Aug. 7 @ 7:00 p.m.
Sat., Aug. 9 @ 7:00 p.m.

KEY:
[S]=ASL interpreted
[A]=Audio described

Show details

Venue: U of M Rarig Center Arena

Duration: 60 minutes

For ages 10+

Adapted by Allen Hamilton

Website: www.myspace.com/antigonemartyr

Genres: Hip Hop/rap, Audio described, Political

Warnings: Strobe lights

Overall rating

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User reviews

unfortunate
by Charlie Bethel Follow this reviewer
Rating 1 kitty
I love myth. I love classical text. I love the role of theatre artists as the therapists of the collective cultural soul. This show made me shake my head with disappointment, though. It was a long string of cliches with little behind them to make them true. I groaned at the wedding sequence, complete with "Love lifted us up where we belong" AND girl-twirly choreography, and at the end, I couldn't even remember how Haemon dies, even though I'm sure it was covered in the script. A simple, beautiful tale strangled by self-indulgence, and all but raped by PC know-nothingness. That said, there was some passable acting. But I found Antigone too plaintive to believe in her power, and Creon too impotent to believe in his. So, the Antigone story goes totally south once these states are achieved. I think it's very important that the arts educators involved in this project communicate to their young charges that this piece of schlock is no example of how to win our hearts and minds. They would do well to ask their forgiveness and start again on something else. I won't ever get my hour back, but I will pass this along to those hard-working young actors of that show: Take a page from Antigone's playbook and quit listening to the old people.

Antigone
by Marilyn Knudsen Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
This is what the Fringe should be. Very ambitious, controversial, the germ and gem of an idea that may be going somewhere. One of the most amibitious and not slick shows, which is high praise, I think. This is certainly not the most polished of shows, but it shows great thought. and potential. We saw their first show, and it started off tentative, but really warmed up. There is lots of room for improvement, so part of the fun is seeing what could be tried differently.

Pick An Idea/Theme, Stick To It
by Ben San Del Follow this reviewer
Rating 1 kitty
Some good performances couldn't save this from its unfocused production and poorly written adaptation. Show just sort of crumbles under a pile of scattershot ideas that never coalesce.

Ugh.
by phillip low Follow this reviewer
Rating 1 kitty
Manages to be simultaneously clumsily executed and intellectually irresponsible. Contains a completely non-ironic rendition of "Up Where We Belong." Quotes Camus and attempts to conflate all rebels into a single archetype regardless of defining ideology, which I find intensely repugnant. Is so busy being "timeless and eternal" that it forgets to communicate anything of substance whatsoever. Full review available at the Twin Cities Daily Planet.

Style Clash!
by Rex Winsome Follow this reviewer
Rating 1 kitty
I've heard political rallies in the 60's described as some guy on an ego trip shouting at a crowd to get free by following his every demand. This production of Antigone seems to be in that tradition. The patronizing attempt to reach a younger and more diverse demographic by inserting hip hop and modern slang creates a confused clash of styles. A genuine hiphop antigone could be good, and relevant, but this production makes ancient Greece and modern hip hop go together like plaids and stripes, with a flower power pattern of overwrought contextless symbolism scattered throughout.

Performances were wonderful... that's it
by Reier Erickson Follow this reviewer
Rating 2 kitties
While the majority of the performances were great... the writing was poor. The rapping was really poor... just not good at all! I thought the guard really stole the show. But so many things about this didn't end up making sense at all, especially if you didn't know the play. Along with Chuck Beeson as the guard, I enjoyed Antonio Banks and Amanda Weecks. All in all a poor premise performed really well.

Antogone
by Bobby Lee Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
A comtempary piece. Well directed, especially Danial Brewer as Creom. It was clear a great deal of thought was put forth in depicting a lengedary tragedy.

Antigone - Has My Vote
by Mary Becht Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
I loved the performance. I thought it was powerful and I enjoyed the way the two worlds were meshed together. Danial's performance was his best, I have seen him in many others. Chucks performance was powerful and Lynnea's performance brought the two worlds together.

You'll be rewarded.
by Robert Flynn Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
If you hear yourself saying, "Antigone? Been there... I think I'll go to something new." That would be a big Fringin' mistake. Be patient with the show and you'll be rewarded with an interesting contemporary riff, some very good performances and a great performance from Creon (Danial Brewer. He goes from almost warm to visiously intense to the soul of absolute desolation... and take you with him.
I would NOT go to 4 performance of any other Antigone . . . . but I have, this one.

A bit Disjointed...
by Mandi Johnson Follow this reviewer
Rating 1 kitty
I felt like this show had a number of concepts that were all decent, but instead of picking one and fleshing it out they just slammed them all together to create an odd bundle. There were definitely moments where I got excited and thought, "ooh, where is this going!" but was regularly disappointed with the lack of follow through.
What drew me to the show was the idea of a rap-infused Antigone but I didn't feel that the concept was fleshed out enough. I felt that Lynnea Doublette as "The Rapper" was definitely the highlight of the show, but an interesting narrator can't carry a whole piece. I wouldn't recommend this one.

not for me
by julie fossell Follow this reviewer
Rating 1 kitty
This was a weird show. It seemed the writer tried to make it modern but didn't mesh it well with the old. I thought Maggie (Antigone) and Creon's son had a lot of energy and potential so thus the one star. I'm sorry for their sake that I can't recommend seeing the show

Performances Sweeter than Oranges
by Michael Shaeffer Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
Danial Brewer, as Creon, really shines in this adaptation. He used a soft menace over a stentorian bellow a few times, and I really enjoyed those choices. Lynnea Doublette keeps the show flowing with a committed hip hop energy that connects the dots. At one point, a familiar love song could have easily made the show slide into groaner territory, but it provided a welcomed and touching scene between Antigone and Haemon that is sorely missing from the more traditional takes on this tragedy. The physical confrontation between the bodyguard and the seargent could have been a bit more realistic, and I didn't care for what the text did with Ismene at the end, but those are mere trifles. This is a great, strong, entertaining riff on a Greek classic.

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